Global equity funds see lowest inflow in eight weeks – Lipper

(Reuters) – Global equity funds drew their lowest inflow in eight weeks in the week ended Nov. 24, as investors upped bets on U.S. rate hikes in 2022 after President Joe Biden picked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lead the central bank for a second term.

Investors purchased global equity funds worth a net $443 million, the smallest net buying since the week ended Sept. 29, Refinitiv Lipper data showed.

Fund flows into global equities bonds and money market

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New worries about the spread of COVID-19 added to the gloomy mood as renewed curbs in some regions including Europe doused investor hopes of a quick recovery in consumption and growth worldwide.

U.S. equity funds faced net selling worth $4.27 billion, although investors purchased European and Asian equity funds of $1.6 billion and $0.2 billion respectively.

Consumer discretionary funds received $751 million and technology funds attracted $1.76 billion in net buying, marking the biggest weekly inflow in over four months, while health care and financials faced outflows of $788 million and $596 million, respectively.

Global fund flows into equity sectors

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Global bond funds pulled in a net $2.09 billion, the smallest inflow in six weeks.

Inflation-protected funds secured $1.39 billion in net buying, while government bond funds pulled in $1.32 billion. However, high yield funds posted outflows of $2.8 billion, the biggest weekly outflow in more than eight months.

Global bond funds flows in the week ended Nov 24

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Meanwhile, global money market funds drew $11.32 billion in net purchases, compared with $3.05 billion in the previous week.

For commodities, precious metal funds attracted a net $883 million, while energy funds saw outflows of $20 million after three straight weeks of inflows.

An analysis of 24,001 emerging market funds showed investors purchased equity funds for a fourth consecutive week worth a net $138 million but sold bond funds of $1.7 billion, marking a second straight week of outflows.

Fund flows into EM equities and bonds

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(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)